I'll be the strongest (in your heart)!
by WrestleCrazyGamer
Summary: Miku, daughter of Rio Kazama, meets a boy named Takeya. He happens to be the son of Sakura. Her serious composure is thrown into discord by Takeya's lazy-before-noon personality. Events lead up to a date... and a possible relationship as Miku trains for the ring and inevitably drags him with her? *My first attempt at a more normal romance story.*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 01: Fateful Match

It was a cool spring day. Cherry blossoms were falling. Miku Kazama, daughter of pro-wrestler Rio Kazama, was on her way home from a day of training at Berserk after school let out. There she saw him standing at the same stoplight she usually stands at to go to the train station home. He had long black hair put in a ponytail, wore simple glasses, and had on her school's uniform. There was a certain allure to him, despite his pretty average looks. To her, he stood out for some reason. She stood by him, waiting for the light, and glanced at his bag. The tag read "Wolfgang, Takeya"… she knew that surname from somewhere… and then it hit her. She knew that surname from Berserk's veteran member, Sakura Wolfgang who was formerly Sakura Hagiwara before marrying.

His bag's tag also read "2-A", the class next door to hers, "2-B". For the first time, if she talked about wrestling, there was a pretty good chance he'd know what she was talking about. It'd be very awkward though, because their mothers are fierce rivals in the ring. She was actually surprised she hadn't run into him sooner since both of their mothers train and spar at Berserk. The light changed and they crossed, and seemed to be going on the same route. It made her very uncomfortable, which was a first for her since she bears the reputation of being a "dead-expression ice queen" at school and the Berserk gym. He didn't seem to notice her, strangely enough.

When they finally reached her home, he kept walking as she entered the gate. She waited until he turned the corner to move an inch, just to be sure he wasn't stalking her or something. With a sigh of relief, she entered the house to find her mother standing there with a grin on her face.

"So, walked home with a boy… don't tell me you played hooky on training?" Rio teased her.

"No, mother. We happened to be going the same route, nothing more." Miku told her.

"Really? He was wearing your school's uniform if I'm not mistaken…" she chuckled.

"I'm serious, mother, it was just a coincidence." Miku argued.

"I'll believe you for now. Don't neglect your training though. I don't want any chance of any successor Hagiwara has to one-up you when you debut." Rio laughed patting Miku's back.

"Mrs. Wolfgang seems nice enough though…" Miku spoke.

"That nice nature is why she's got so many fans and friends. Of course, if you don't stand out you'll kind of just blend into the norm. That's why I've had you practice being an ice queen. Don't go thawing on me until you've at least established yourself." Rio lectured walking to the living room.

The next day at school, Class 2-A and 2-B were going to have a merged gym class in the morning because the gym coach had to leave for a doctors' appointment during 2-A's usual period after lunch. Miku noticed Takeya across the way tiredly stretching without a partner. He was also being lazy about his stretches too, and actually looked ready to pass out. She stormed over to him a punched him knocking him on his rear end.

"You don't half-ass stretches… otherwise you'll be too slow to dodge simple attacks like that." she scolded him.

"You sound like my aunt…" Takeya groaned.

"You're the son of one of the greatest women wrestlers to be made out of an idol… how can you be so… so lazy?" Miku asked.

"I don't have any intention of being a wrestler…?" he bluntly replied.

"You aren't sure?" she asked.

"I figured it was common knowledge that I'm allergic to pain." he shrugged, and that made her snap.

"Don't be so casual about rejecting your mother's legacy! You have a responsibility to make sure it lives on!" Miku shouted at him breaking her composed look.

"It's cool. I have two younger sisters that are more than happy to become future wrestlers." Takeya bluntly told her making her nerve explode turning her face red as a volcano.

"That does it!" she roared getting him in a Boston Crab.

She continued applying all kinds of submission holds on him making him groan with pain, but never once did he tap or ask her to stop. The event resulted in both having to run ten laps around the track, which Takeya barely completely by the end of the class period. Miku could not believe just how out of shape he was despite his fit build. It led her to become curious about him. Eventually she gave in and asked some of the girls in 2-A.

"Wolfgang-kun? Oh, haha, yeah… he's not a morning person at all. It's like he's a rusty machine or something with how sluggish he is." one girl told Miku.

"He goes through a complete 180 transformation the instant it becomes noon though. He's suddenly full of energy and can perform math that'd make most of our year's heads spin. He once completed a test in just four minutes. Anything before noon takes him at least fifteen to twenty minutes. His grades are solid enough, but he'll never get a girlfriend with the way he functions." another explained.

"Is that all there is to him?" Miku asked.

"Well, in a few weeks his surname is going to change to his mother's maiden name. Apparently things are a bit weird at home for him, so he's been a little more sluggish than normal. Just the other day he had to leave early because he passed out from sleep deprivation." the first girl replied.

"Are his parents divorcing?" Miku asked.

"No one knows the details except for his best friend, Okita Suo. He's in the chess club, so you might be able to catch him if you hurry." the second girl replied.

While Miku didn't want to skip on training, it bothered her. How could the son of a wrestler have zero interest in the sport? He should at least be happy to cheer on his mother and talk highly of her work ethic. Using a picture she got from the girls, she sought out Okita. He had short flat black hair and wore comically large glasses that used swirling lenses. He had slightly buck teeth as well. He happened to be sweeping and nothing else.

"Are you Suo? From 2-A?" Miku asked.

"That's me. Y-You aren't going to make me do your homework too are you…?" he asked in a nervous panic.

"No. I came to talk about Takeya Wolfgang. I'm told if I need to know anything about him you're the guy to talk to." Miku told him.

"Well, I am, like, his only friend, so, what do you wanna know? I've known the lug since elementary school." Okita asked.

"I heard his surname is changing soon. What's with that?" Miku asked.

"That's become a rumor has it? Well, it's true. His surname will change from Wolfgang to Hagiwara soon. He's stayed at my place the past few nights, saying things were a little rocky between his mom and dad. I thought it was just a small lovers' quarrel, maybe she was pent up being a wrestler and all and just wanted some action. One day though I decided to walk him back, since he still had some of my DVD's on loan that he'd been meaning to return. We walked in on an argument and… hoo boy, I don't know who was doing the throwing but furniture was definitely broken from what we heard. We both booked it before we could get dragged in." Okita explained.

"So they're divorcing…" Miku sighed.

"Even I don't know all the details. I've seen through texts that his mom is going to try her best to make sure the rest of his education goes well. I'm really concerned for Takeya too… all his life, his parents were as happy as could be. To see them just break like this is seriously sad. All I can really do for him is be an escape, where he doesn't have to think about what's happening. Sometimes he sneaks his younger sisters out too, which to them is a godsend since they're just middle schoolers." Okita sighed rubbing the back of his head.

"I see. Do you happen to have his cell number?" Miku asked.

"Huh? I do… but it'd be kind of awkward if I just give someone who doesn't know him his number." Okita replied scratching his chin.

"Do it or you're getting power bombed through that table." Miku threatened, and in a flash he had his phone out.

She sent a simple text to Takeya. Who she was and that if he ever needed to talk she was open. That same night, Miku was called downstairs by her mother. Everything seemed normal, until she sat down. Her mother was staring intently at her.

"Miku… you weren't at the gym today." Rio spoke taking another sip of her drink.

"I felt the need to check in on a fellow student, mother. I will spend Sunday at the gym to make up for missing today, I promise." Miku told her.

"You think you'll be off the hook that easy?" Rio asked swirling the ice in her drink around.

"Is that not satisfactory?" Miku asked back.

"Relax. You don't have to make it up." she scoffed cracking a grin.

"What…?" Miku asked in pure confusion.

"You were up front with me. You didn't break eye contact and your pupils didn't dilate, which tells me you were telling the truth. Plus, your left thigh twitches a bit when you lie, and seeing as it didn't I'm inclined to believe you." Rio replied taking a swig of her drink.

"Thank you, mother…" Miku sighed.

"By the way, Hagiwara's going to be a widow soon." Rio told her.

"Widow? She isn't divorcing?" Miku asked.

"Her husband suggested that, but she refused. He was recently diagnosed with an incurable disease that's causing organ failure now and again. He was given about a month or so to live with how frequent the attacks have been. His final wish to her is to change back to her maiden name, and remember him as the man who spent years devoted his loving wrestler wife. She said she won't do it until after he's passed… so that she spends every last second she has left with him in her life as his wife." Rio explained taking another swig.

"That's so sad…" Miku spoke.

"To be honest, Hagiwara hasn't gone drinking with us before now… that or when she did, she never ordered alcohol. It was always juice for her, so that one of us still had a sane mind by the end of the night. We're rivals in the ring, but outside it… it hurts seeing her reduced to someone that cries herself to sleep. Can't be any easier for the kids either. She's got this lazy-ass son, good kid, but you really gotta fish around to find a subject to get him talking with. He's particularly close to his dad. I can't imagine how he's feeling right now." Rio sighed.

The next day, Takeya was absent. The day after that, still absent. Another day, and another… he was still gone. She talked to Okita, and he said that he was unresponsive to texts as well. That left one option… going to his house directly. She made Okita tell her the address with an armbar submission after he refused saying that he needed space. The next day was Sunday, perfect for going to see him. Once at the gate, she became more nervous. Her last encounter with him was a pretty violent once. Even so, she rang the doorbell, and a middle school girl with short brown hair opened the door.

"Yes?" she asked in a shaky tone.

"My name is Miku Kazama. I'm looking for Takeya. Is he home?" Miku asked.

"Big bro? He's been locked up in his room since… I-I'll go let him know you're here… come in." she spoke letting Miku inside.

Just like Okita said, some bits of broken furniture were still visible in the living room. On what remained of the coffee table there were bottle of stomach medicine along with cans of alcohol. Lying on the couch was Sakura… looking like she was recovering from a hangover.

"Oh… hello. That uniform… you must be a friend of Takeya's. Good… I'm glad he's making more friends." she greeted me trying to smile a bit.

"Um, Mrs. Wolfgang, it's me, Miku… we've met at Berserk a few times?" Miku chuckled pointing to her face.

"Kazama-chan? Did Rio-chan send you to check up on me? That's nice of her to do…" she asked.

"I came because Wolfgang-kun hasn't come to class in a few days." Miku told her and she sat up a bit as the middle schooler entered the room again, only her hair was in a ponytail now.

"Momma, big brother's crying again." she told Sakura.

"Can you blame him sweetie? I'd be crying more too if I wasn't so tired…" Sakura sighed.

"I… take it your husband… I'm sorry." Miku spoke bowing to her.

"I'm just happy the girls didn't have to see me when his last flame flickered out… Takeya had to pull me back. I felt his tears on my back as he pulled me away. He was just as close to him as I was… that boy looked forward to doing this model car building contest with him every year. Sometimes they'd get near the top and he'd urge Takeya to keep trying, and eventually he'd win." Sakura spoke trying to refrain from crying.

"Big bro said he doesn't wanna see anyone." the girl who'd let Miku in spoke as she walked in revealing that they were twins.

"Well too bad. Someone has to talk to him." Miku told her, and walked up the stairs.

Takeya's room was clearly marked, along with a "please knock" sign. She did so, and was promptly barked at to go away. Annoyed, Miku kicked open the door seeing Takeya on the floor against his bed with his forehead on his arms. His room was a mess with soda bottles and fast food boxes. It was a wonder he had no stamina. There were some small trophies on his dresser as well.

"I said I didn't want to see anyone…" Takeya growled without looking up.

Miku walked right up to him and grabbed him by the shirt lifting him a bit forcing him to look. His eyes were red from crying, and he looked positively furious. She didn't bother with kind words and flat out punched his jaw.

"What's wrong with you, Wolfgang?! Do you want your dad to see you like this as he looks down from heaven?! Your whole family misses him, and sure they aren't coping in the best ways… but they aren't locking themselves away like someone who's in jail! So get your ass up!" Miku scolded him, and he sat up.

"Everyone mourns in their own way…" Takeya sighed, and she grabbed his shirt again.

"You're acting like a child who's been told 'no' and threw a temper tantrum! Straighten out damn it!" Miku scolded punching him again.

"What do you know…?" Takeya growled.

"I know that losing family is hard, but you can't just shut down because of it. So get up and keep fighting. Don't stop until you win. Life is a wrestling tournament. Death is the champion. You do not give up, not even when you get to that championship bout. So get up. Reach for those ropes when you're knocked down and hurting. If you need help, I'll be in your corner. I'll even interfere when your opponent's playing dirty. So get up! Now!" Miku scolded, and Takeya simply sat up.

"Why do you care…?" Takeya asked with a sigh.

"I'm going to be the strongest in the world someday. With that goal in mind, I need to be the best both in the ring and in the locker room. There's no room for being pretentious and deceitful when it's the top of the top you're aiming for. I'm not being charitable, I'm not being condescending, and I'm not trying to get ahead… I'm caring for my fellow wrestler." Miku replied.

"I'm not a wrestler." Takeya argued.

"You get the point though!" Miku roared yanking him to his feet.

"So I'm going to be your pillar of support, got it? I'm not letting you just sit here and rot while time marches forward. So first thing's first… take a bath!" she barked at him.

She shoved clothes from the dresser into his hands and then with his little sisters' help shoved him into the bathing room. While she waited she went downstairs to find Sakura sitting up looking a little bit better, although she was still a bit pale.

"Heh… you really are Rio's daughter. I don't have it in me to talk to him like that. Simple discipline, sure, but helping him recover when I'm just as bad as him at the moment…? Listening to what you said to him reminded me a lot of when I first became a wrestler. I was whiny, bratty, I gave up easily, and I just overall wanted to quit… but a good friend of mine changed me. Do me a favor and be that friend to Takeya." Sakura told her with a smile.

"Huh?" Miku asked a little confused.

"Well… if you don't mind… give him a chance?" Sakura asked putting her hands together in a begging stance.

It took a minute for what she'd said to register. She'd asked her to go out with Takeya. This was the last thing she'd expected to happen. She didn't know a whole lot about him, and she was being asked to date him? How would her mom react? She'd agreed to be a supporting pillar, but a girlfriend? She had her training schedule to consider too. What if it didn't work out? Thousands of scenarios played out in her head. Some went smoothly others went horribly awry.

"I-I'll have to… consider it." Miku replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, at least it wasn't a no…" Sakura sighed with relief.

When Takeya descended the stairs he had the twins hanging from his shoulders. He'd seemed to recover at least a little bit, and didn't look as messy after a bath. It sort of bothered her that he didn't comb his hair even though it's long. Miku made Takeya swear to return to school the next day before she could consider her work done.

The next morning, Okita greeted Takeya at the school gate. He looked very worried, whereas Takeya looked like his usual sluggish self. That made him sigh with relief at the very least.

"Takeya, where have you been man?" Okita asked.

"Sorry. We were sorting things out at home…" he sighed.

"Kazama-chan from 2-B was asking if you showed up earlier." Okita told him.

"Miku Kazama… she's scary…" Takeya commented.

"Scary?" Okita asked confused.

"She's also sweet, if you get past her violent tendencies." he added with a slight smile.

"I'm scared to ask what she did to you…" Okita commented.

After classes, to Miku's shock, Takeya was waiting for her at the lockers. He was staring right at her, making some of the other students look confused. Miku blushed slightly shocking many of them as she quickly got her shoes and dragged Takeya along.

"Do you have to pull so hard?" he asked.

"Did you have to give people ideas by staring at me like that…?" Miku asked.

Before she knew it, she'd accidentally dragged him to the Berserk gym with her. He threw her for a loop by actually having sweats with him so he could exercise. To her shock, he actually had a lifetime membership that he just elected not to use very often. According to the veteran wrestlers it was like a sighting of the Loch Ness Monster to see Takeya in the gym let alone actually working out. With that in mind, Miku got changed and began her own usual workout. Then Miku noticed her mom and Sakura enter the gym… together… at the same time…

"What do you know, getting both here was easier than I thought it'd be." Rio smiled looking at Takeya as he used the pulley machines.

"You're sure about this though?" Sakura asked.

"What's the harm in it?" Rio chuckled as Miku walked over.

"What're you scheming, mother?" Miku asked.

"You and Takeya-kun in the ring. He wins, you go on at least one date with him. You win, you get to decide if you date or not." Rio replied with a smile.

"Why is this on the line?" Miku asked with a less than enthused tone.

"Takeya-kun is lonely and you aren't exactly seeing anyone." Rio replied.

"What about serious training?" Miku asked.

"You're a big girl. You can adjust your schedule on your own, right?" Rio asked patting her head.

Despite very much being against the idea, she still got in the ring. Takeya had to be talked into it by Sakura, but he eventually found his way into the ring. They had one of the recruits put on a ref shirt and get in there to be the official. Once they'd been checked for weapons, the ref gave the signal.

-DING-

They met in the center and Miku expected to take him down easily, since he's Mr. Allergic-to-Pain. What she got was an opponent who moved fast. Before she'd even registered that he moved he'd suplexed her sending a shock through her spine. She charged aiming for a spear and he leap frogged her causing her shoulder to collide with a turnbuckle. How could a guy so lazy be so spry? Again and again he was able to escape her holds, even if she was able to get hits on him so long as they weren't submission oriented. He even found a quick way to escape her pyramid lock, one that'd made all of her sparring partners give up before.

He had no form to follow, which ticked her off. Takeya was more or less playing "dodge the arrow" with her instead of actively coming after her, letting Miku take the offensive. Both Rio and Sakura were urging their competitor on. Takeya managed to make Rio clap by evading a spear by doing a handstand on the top turnbuckle, giving him points for creativity. Miku was really getting sick of his tactics as she tried to recover her bearings. Then, at the five minute mark when she'd just recovered she received a running bulldog from Takeya, followed by more offense moves. He'd completely changed his tactics on her!

He now took advantage of every opening, not giving a second to breathe. Relentlessly he exploited her blind spots and inability to predict where he would come from next. The room was beginning to spin for Miku as she got to her feet. She was seeing four as she held onto the ropes, but managed to pinpoint where Takeya was in the center of the ring. She charged for a make-or-break spear. She managed to hit him… but they weren't on the mat… and an even worse realization came to her… he had a hold of her… with a straight shot to the mat.

"Please don't…" Miku squeaked.

"Not how it works." Takeya told her and then promptly landed a DDT on her making her entire world look like it was split into several hundred as she felt her legs move upward.

 ** _One! Two! Three!_**

-DING, DING, DING-

"The winner, Takeya!" the ref announced raising his arm.

"Heh… didn't think your boy was capable of that." Rio smiled.

"I'm going to be honest, I didn't teach him any of that." Sakura chuckled.

"I actually just imitated Love Dragon from Ultra Dragon Knights. She feigns fear of her foe, and when they've been deceived she strikes with the flames of a thousand suns…" Takeya told them.

"Oh my god, he won by mimicking a kid's TV show…" Rio spoke in disbelief.

"By all practical means, he should have lost horribly…" Sakura added with a sheepish smile.

"Well, a bet's a bet. He gets a date with her." Rio sighed with a grin.

"Date?" Takeya asked.

"Oh right, I didn't tell you… if you won, you got a date with her this Sunday." Sakura told him, and he went bright red.

"Why was that on the line?" Takeya asked.

"You're both young, plus you need someone to help you get out more. Seriously, you're pastier than glue." Rio replied.

"Better not bore me…" Miku growled.

So the next Sunday, the two met at the park near the high school. Takeya was dressed in sneakers, blue jeans, and his uniform shirt. Miku was dressed in white shoes, borrowed from her mom as she only owned wrestling boots and her school shoes, and a black short dress with black spats.

"Where are we headed for this date…?" Miku asked.

"Dead Land." Takeya told her showing two tickets.

"Dead Land…? A horror theme park…? Sooooo romantic…" Miku sighed.

"You have any better ideas?" Takeya asked.

"Shopping at Wrestlers R Us, a workout at Berserk, then maybe a bite to eat somewhere." Miku spoke, and then immediately regretted it… that was her usual Sunday plan.

"Really…?" Takeya asked.

"On second thought, the theme park sounds like an actual date…" Miku sighed.

Once at Dead Land, for some reason it seemed scarier now that she was there. Takeya didn't show any fear it seemed. He actually seemed to enjoy scary stuff. Things did make him jump, but he'd immediately chuckle a bit after. Miku just couldn't keep her composure. Takeya noticed her uneasiness too and held her hand… prompting a slap.

"Ah… sorry… you spooked me." Miku told him.

"Why do I doubt that…?" Takeya asked shedding a tear.

The rollercoasters didn't bother Miku much, and the spinning rides weren't anything compared to a windmill move. It was the haunted house where Miku was seriously losing it. It was all her little irrational fears put into one place. She was terrified of spiders, and there was a hall where they got chased by a large animatronic spider. Takeya audibly heard her squeaking in fear as they ran. She was not having a good time with this one. It was worse when they reached the broken floor room showing a room far below. Miku really sucked with heights, and was latched to his arm the entire careful walk through. When they finally got out, Miku was barely able to stand.

"N-Never again…" Miku spoke.

"It was exhilarating though, right?" Takeya asked.

"Exhilarating? That felt like torture… and a cheap way to make her hold you." she replied.

"Well, the point of a haunted house is to get scared." Takeya chuckled.

"They're abominations…" Miku growled.

"You don't appreciate a good scare, huh? There are comedy horror houses too, just so you know." Takeya told her, and she grabbed his shirt.

"Listen you… so far I've of yet to have real fun…" Miku growled as she glared into his eyes.

"Well, this is just Stop A on our date." Takeya smiled.

"Stop A…?" she asked in confusion.

"We're killing time, is what I'm saying. The real fun begins at noon." Takeya told her looking at the park clock tower as it reads 11:30am.

The two left the park then and began walking. Miku growled as soon as they started approaching the hotel district. She was ready to punch his teeth out as soon as he led her along through them. Once through though, she saw they were at a strange stadium she hadn't seen before. It looked abandoned, with zero cars in the parking lot. He blatantly ignored the "do not enter" tape going into the building.

"Come on, it's almost noon." Takeya urged her, and she sighed following him inside.

Deeper inside there was a bouncer. He was tall and sort of scary. Once Takeya approached him, the bouncer stuck out his fist. Then the two performed a complicated series of fist bumps and handshakes that confused the crap out of Miku. Takeya then took Miku's hand again.

"Show's starting, your seats are in the front row." the bouncer told them with a smile.

Behind the curtain was a wrestling arena. The ring itself was larger than regular, and at the entrance ramp there were banners strung about. They took their seats as the lights began to dim. A man wearing a ridiculous rainbow-colored suit then walked to the ring with a woman in a tight bodysuit bearing a referee pattern.

"Where are we…?" Miku asked.

"Shush, it's starting." Takeya told her without taking his eyes off the ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you all for coming out this month! Without you devoted fans, we wouldn't be able to put on this show of athleticism and theatre each and every month, on this day, at this time, for you lovely people!" the man spoke, and the fans including Takeya cheered loudly.

"What the hell's going on…? Why is the ref's outfit so ridiculous…? Who the heck is that guy…?" Miku asked in confusion.

"When the show starts you'll find out. Today's the Origins Show for new potential fans so they aren't totally lost." Takeya told her.

The lights then went out as music began playing. When they came back on, two masculine men were at ringside as two women in black leotards wrestled in the ring with the referee keeping watch. That was easy enough for Miku to follow, an actual match. She didn't know any names though, so she couldn't really cheer either one on since they were in the same attire, although Takeya was cheering for the one named "Scarlet". When the blonde pinned the brunette, flames erupted around the ring startling Miku, but the ring wasn't on fire and the man was in the ring again.

"How…?" Miku asked.

"Dayum, you girls sure know how to go at it." the man spoke.

"Who are you?" both girls asked him.

"I am Lucius V Slam, producer of Slammia's finest wrestling warriors. The Earth is in danger, and I need strong prospective wrestlers like you girls to protect it." the man told them as the two men entered the ring.

"So, you're an alien wrestler producer then?" one of the men asked.

"That's right, kiddo. I can make you all superheroes that wrestle!" Lucius told them with a wide grin.

"What the hell's with this show…?" Miku asked.

"Shush, you'll miss it." Takeya told her.

"How are you going to do that?" the brunette girl asked getting in Lucius's face, and the referee handed him a blood red champion belt of sorts.

"Like this." Lucius replied putting the belt on her, and then bright light flashed the audience.

On the large screens above the ring as the lights in the ring went out it showed the girl going through a transformation sequence. Her attire was replaced with blood red ring boots, a bodysuit that was black on the lower half and scarlet red from the chest up in a dragon-like design with matching red gloves. The last thing to appear on her was a horned dragon mask. The fans went crazy over it, which startled Miku. The lights then came back on in the ring revealing she's changed her outfit the match her transformation.

"Heroic Wrestler, Scarlet Dragon! With the flames of law, I never cheat!" she roared making the fans cheer louder.

"What am I watching?" Miku asked.

"That's cool!" the blonde exclaimed.

"I feel so strong… like I could take anyone on!" Scarlet Dragon exclaimed clenching her fists as she flexed her muscles.

"I'm gonna make you all heroes!" Lucius exclaimed handing them each belts color coded blue, pink, and green.

They also underwent transformations to become Venom Dragon, Ocean Dragon, and Love Dragon. Miku became annoyed as soon as Lucius dubbed them the Ultra Dragon Knights. This was what Takeya referred to when he said he imitated a character to defeat her. She begrudgingly continued to watch it. Almost a half hour into the show, Miku couldn't help but admit that the effects weren't half-bad. She questioned how such effects could be done in the ring though. Like when characters used beam attacks and lock-on moves. How on earth were they visible to the fans? In a twisted way, it started to make her appreciate the work the wrestlers were putting into the production. She really started getting invested when Noire Dragon appeared and pinned all four of the Dragon Knights through very heelish means. Disqualification apparently wasn't a thing, because every time the ref scolded her she'd grab her and threaten to put her through some moves if she didn't count.

When it came to Noire Dragon's villain speech, Miku swore she recognized her voice. It was a bit masked underneath her, well, mask, but she could swear she knew the person behind the mask. That made Miku become deeply invested as she tried to put the voice to a face. She even cheered when it came to the showdown between Noire Dragon and Scarlet Dragon. Her heart beat fast as the referee counted the pin securing Scarlet Dragon's narrow victory over their foe. The crowd went nuts as the referee raised her arm. It wasn't traditional wrestling, but at the same time was pretty entertaining. When the show ended, Takeya had a big grin on his face.

"I'll admit it… that was pretty good…" Miku sighed.

"I saw you eyeballing Noire Dragon the entire time she was in-ring. Wanna meet her?" Takeya asked.

"We can?" Miku asked.

"You could say I'm a VIP." Takeya chuckled, and led her backstage.

To Miku's shock, seemingly everyone behind the scenes knew Takeya. They were on a first-name basis too. Was he really such a VIP? What made him so special? Eventually they arrived at the dressing room for Noire Dragon. He bluntly knocked on the door without hesitation.

"Coming." the voice spoke clearly, and Miku definitely recognized it this time.

It was none other than Jackal Tojo. She still had on all of her costume but the helmet. She looked pleasantly surprised to see Takeya.

"Takeya-kun. It's been a while." she smiled at him.

"I haven't had much of an allowance the past few months. I had to borrow some from my buddy for the sake of my date." Takeya chuckled.

"Date? Oh my, the ice queen is on a date, acting like a normal girl for once? How unexpected." Jackal teased.

"Is it so strange for someone like me to be on a date?" Miku asked.

"You're usually using your spare time working out, taking no time to enjoy school life. So, is this your first date?" Jackal asked.

"Yeah. Our moms had us wrestle… I won, so I got a date with her." Takeya replied.

"I guess even Rio-chan knew you were wasting your youth training every evening. Just so you know, Kazama-chan… if you break Takeya's heart, I'll break your spine. Do we have an understanding?" Jackal asked her with a sincere smile on her face.

"C-Crystal clear…" Miku replied with a scared gulp.

"Well, I'm glad you aren't too apprehensive at taking the pinfall like you were when you first took the role as Noire Dragon." Takeya told Jackal.

"Oh, it's a lot of fun now. Everyone's great, and we love poking fun at each other when we mess up a line. I sure heard it from Saki when I accidentally forgot a line of my 'evil monologue'. It's the same one every time too…" Jackal chuckled.

"The fans don't seem to mind. You don't forget it in the show either." Takeya told her.

"I'm not being watched by a sea of adoring fans during those recordings. When I'm wrestling I don't have a problem performing, but when it comes to actual dialogue I sometimes panic." Jackal laughed.

"So what's next, Wolfgang?" Miku asked.

"Hmm? Next is dinner. It's already 4:50pm." Takeya replied.

"We were here that long?!" Miku exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah. Each show is anywhere from three to five hours long. Imagine the stamina it takes the people putting on the show not to mess up." Takeya told her.

After dinner, it was time to walk her home. Miku had somehow managed to get some enjoyment out of the date. It was obvious that Takeya didn't know much about how a date should flow either. He just took her to something he knew about and was easy to get to. When they got to Miku's home, her mom was in the doorway grinning. Miku opened the gate, and she cleared her throat making her look. She puckered her lips and winked at her making Miku go a bit red. She was NOT kissing him on the lips, but her mother's grin persisted… and she knew very well what it meant. So she pecked his cheek and rushed inside making her mother burst out laughing.

"That girl wasn't crying, so I guess that means it went well. After her pride dies down a bit she might act a little more like a regular girl outside the ring." Rio sighed happily.

"Why raise her to be an ice queen though?" Takeya asked.

"I didn't mean to make her into one both inside and out of the ring. I just wanted her to have a gimmick of her own. Some of us have a crazy theme, some of us have a costume… so I figured I'd make her an ice queen, to stand out a little. She took it a little too close to heart." Rio replied.

"So you're okay if she thaws?" Takeya asked.

"If she remains frozen inside the ring, that's fine. She shouldn't neglect a social life though. Who knows, maybe you're the best thing for her." Rio replied entering the house.

When Takeya returned home the twins leapt on him affectionately. He carried them on his back to the living room. The remaining fragments of furniture had been cleaned up, and there were no beer cans in sight. Sakura was in the kitchen icing a cake.

"Big bro, where'd you take her?" one twin asked.

"Tell us, tell us." the other demanded.

"Come on, I just got home you two…" Takeya chuckled.

"So you took her to a live Ultra Dragon Knights show then." Sakura smiled.

"I don't know the first thing about girls, what'd you expect me to do?" Takeya complained.

"He didn't try to get her in a hotel…" one twin sighed.

"I win the bet." the other giggled.

"You seriously bet on if I was going to try and do it on the first date…?" Takeya asked with a very unimpressed face.

"They're in middle school, blossoming and curious. Don't blame them for being like that when you had moments too." Sakura chuckled.

"What kind of things did big bro do?" the twins asked in unison.

"Well… once he proposed to Misaki-chan because he was told that he's got no game by Rio-chan. He was twelve at the time, and she thought it was so cute she told him if he can beat her in a match she'd say yes." Sakura replied thinking fondly on it.

"Wow, big bro, that's bold…" the twins giggled.

"Shut it." Takeya growled and they fled to Sakura still giggling their little heads off.

Miku was lying on her bed thinking about the date she'd had. Takeya wasn't a sluggish idiot before noon. Did that mean he just likes to sleep during the week? Or does he just not get enough sleep? What made it worse, is that because of Takeya's date the theme song to Ultra Dragon Knights was stuck in her head. She'd caught herself humming it in the bath earlier and almost flipped her shit. That also made her think about Takeya's smile. While he didn't particularly like participating in it, he seemed to actually like women's wrestling. He didn't really know how either, if he just emulated a character. Strangely though, she felt a sort of want from him for it. Could a guy who tried hard to make sure both had a good time really be so bad…? Maybe… just maybe… she'd allow him to take her on one more date.

End Chapter 1

- _POST CHAPTER FUN_ -

Twins: Takeya's got a girlfriend, Takeya's got a girlfriend!

Takeya: Shut up, both of you!

Miku: We aren't together!

Sakura: You went on a date didn't you?

Miku: It's testing the water, nothing more!

Rio: Really? You're blushing. That's a rare sight.

Miku: M-Mother, not helping!

Sakura: She's so cute when she's flustered.

Miku: Shut up! I hate all of you!

Takeya: That was a little mean, mom.

Sakura: Why am I the only one being scolded?

Twins: Next time, "You'll fall in love, damn it"!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02: You'll fall in love, damn it!

Three days passed since their first date, and Miku noticed that Takeya was still in his tired-before-noon setting. It ticked her off more now than before for some reason. During lunch she couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes were on fire as her face became a tundra. She stomped over to him and to her shock another girl speared Takeya from his seat. She had long red hair and her uniform shirt was replaced with a black tank top bearing the logo of "Starstruck Gym" on the upper back. That gym is Berserk's current top rival for supremacy over the World Circuit!

"Take-dom! I'm back from America!" the girl exclaimed.

"Setsuna-chan?!" Takeya exclaimed in surprise.

"Takeya… first the ice queen and now the transfer student? Share some of that magnetism, man…" Okita groaned.

"Sorry Okita… Setsuna's sort of been my self-proclaimed love since primary school… I've told her numerous times I'm not interested though." Takeya chuckled nervously.

"You said ice queen… that implies another girl… are you CHEATING on me, Take-dom?!" Setsuna demanded to know grabbing hold of his shirt collar.

"First, it was one date and we didn't kiss let alone hold hands. Second, he didn't ask me out, our parents made us wrestle for the opportunity. Third, what the hell does 'Take-dom' mean?" Miku spoke.

"How can you be so thick?! Take-dom obviously refers to his ability to dominate in the ring! He holds a record of 0-97 on me!" Setsuna scolded her, and Miku simply gave her usual cold look.

"Wow, you lost to him 97 times… you might want to train harder on your form as well as your muscles." Miku spoke mockingly.

"Bitch, he's the ONLY person that's beaten me clean to date!" Setsuna barked standing to get in her face.

"Losing clean 97 times in a row? Now I definitely know you just suck. In our match he just imitated Cupid Dragon or whatever her name is." Miku scoffed.

"Love Dragon! Her name is LOVE, DRAGON! If you can't respect the name of the Dragon Knight wrestlers then you're unfit to even share the same gym as Take-dom! I bet you don't even know the name of Noire Dragon's illegitimate son either…" Setsuna lectured as if she were superior.

"To be fair, Chaos Dragon is a non-canon character because the movie universe is separate from the show universe. That's also why Scarlet Dragon doesn't bust out the Nightmare Power Buster in the show, because she never met Miss Minna thus never undertaking the training Noire Dragon did to attain the forbidden techniques that she knows in the show. It'd be understandable if she didn't know who Chaos Dragon is since he only appeared in two of the twenty films in the franchise." Takeya spoke and Setsuna broken to her knees bowing to him.

"Take-dom! You truly are the ultimate master of the lore in the series!" Setsuna exclaimed.

"Oh!? So she too understands the greatness of the Ultra Dragon Knights movie universe?!" Okita exclaimed pushing his glasses up.

"Yes! Movies one through fifteen, give me an obscure fact question and I'll answer it correctly! I'm still studying sixteen, Wicked Fang Returns, so please refrain from it!" Setsuna shouted raising her head.

"Movie four, Love Dragon versus Succubus Queen, who won and how?!" Okita fired.

"Succubus Queen, she pinned her after a chair shot to the head while the ref was distracted!" Setsuna returned.

"Class is starting! Asses in chairs!" the teacher barked.

After school, Setsuna stood before Miku with a challenging look. It was painfully obvious that she knew Miku was from the Berserk gym. She started to growl, and then took a deep breath.

"I challenge you, Miku Kazama!" Setsuna roared.

"You know what it'll mean if you lose, right?" Miku responded.

"Perfectly… the winner gets Take-dom's first kiss and the right to be his true girlfriend!" Setsuna told her aiming a finger, and Miku froze.

"I'm sorry, but we seemed to be thinking of two entirely different things… care to explain what you're challenging me to…?" Miku asked.

"A three-stage competition! First round, cooking! Second round, housekeeping! Final round, caring for your sick love!" Setsuna answered.

"I don't do manga competitions." Miku sighed walking past her.

"It isn't out of a manga! It's a real competition of love! I refuse to believe an ice queen can get one date with Take-dom!" Setsuna roared, and Miku looked over her shoulder in disgust at her.

"Stop living in a romance manga and focus on real life. If he loved you he'd say so and you'd already be dating. So before you continue claiming I love him, check the facts. I only went on that date because he won a match." Miku lectured coldly before walking off leaving Setsuna buried under a mound of snow.

"I-I see why she's called the Ice Queen of Berserk now…" Setsuna cried silently.

That night as Miku bathed, her bad habit took over… and she fell asleep in the piping hot water. While asleep she had the usual dream… she was creaming her competition, nobody could touch her. All who lost to her were turned to icicles, and the only way they could be freed was if she lost. In the middle of her queenly laughter, she was groped from behind making her swing at her fondler… to find Takeya there. He threw her off kilter grabbing and feeling her to break her guard allowing him to land moves on her. He pinned her and then began undoing her top.

"W-What are you doing?!" Dream Miku shouted.

"You lost… so now you'll be the nest of my children…" Dream Takeya cackled as he grabbed Dream Miku making her cry out.

Miku sprang awake in the bath screaming in horror. Why was she having dreams like that about a guy she can't stand? She started bashing her head against the wall in an attempt to make the thoughts go away. Downstairs, her mother was laughing her head off… because that's exactly how it started with her husband! First dirty dreams that then escalates to dirty thoughts, further going to becoming pissed at the sight of him, and finally to that moment of realization that your heart's perimeter defenses have been pierced. Unlike Rio though, Miku doesn't have the same social skills she had. It made her smile thinking of all the awkwardness she'll go through to realize her feelings.

At the Hagiwara Residence, Takeya found himself looking at his old Ultra Dragon Knights memorabilia from over the years he's been a fan since his mom was secretly Scarlet Dragon. His dad tried everything to keep it secret from him, because just like a kid at that age he believed it was real. His mom even went to the extra trouble of using a wig and makeup to hide her appearance when the human personas were on-screen. While it did blast apart his childlike imagery when he found out, he looked fondly on the memory of it. It actually amazed him that he was still a super nerd of the franchise even though he personally knows the cast nowadays. His attention broke when his mother knocked.

"Takeya. I know I shouldn't prod… but… how do you feel about Kazama-chan?" Sakura asked him.

"Well, if you put on thick enough gloves and an Alaskan coat, she can be a decent person at the least." Takeya replied, and Sakura couldn't help snickering.

"That's just like you, Takeya… but try to look at her as a woman instead of a wrestler for once. You might be able to see beyond the ring for once." Sakura told him with a smile.

Takeya was utterly baffled by her words. He wound up forgetting to take notes in class because he was focused on deciphering what it meant. At lunch his brain was starting to fry a bit, so he thought he'd ask Miku.

"Kazama-chan…" Takeya addressed her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"What does it mean to look at you as a woman and not a wrestler?" Takeya asked, and she went a bit red.

"It means putting the fact that I wrestle aside and look only at my physique and personality. Loving someone for profession alone is shallow." Miku replied.

"That… answers so many question but leaves just as many in its wake." Takeya spoke bluntly.

"You're seriously asking a girl about this, Takeya?" Okita asked.

"Who else would I ask?" Takeya replied.

"You could always try the perverts in 3-A. They're experts at analyzing the female anatomy." Okita told him.

"Don't go making him learn weird things." Miku scolded.

Takeya continued to be perplexed by the words of his mother. He'd always seen the women in Berserk and other gyms as wrestlers, nothing more. He had no clue what looking at them as women meant. To him, breasts were just bouncy flesh with no real appeal and the rear end was a powerful weapon if used correctly. It felt like he was trying to figure out rocket science. He finished his homework faster than ever so he'd have as much time as possible to try and learn the secret. In the end he resorted to looking in romance manga to find the secret. His desire to know the answer filled him with determination. All he could seem to figure out was that it has something to do with a kiss on the lips and learning more about them.

The next day he decided he'd try it with Miku. If it didn't give him an answer, he'd have no choice but to attempt further measures. He walked to her desk, and before she could say anything he planted one right on her lips. She went deep red and kicked him down under dropping him to the floor.

"The HELL do you think you're doing?!" Miku roared as Setsuna jealously bit her thumb across the room.

"Despite my pain, your lips are surprisingly soft…" Takeya groaned.

"Is that supposed to justify stealing my first kiss?!" she yelled and immediately regretted it as everyone in the class froze.

"Hey whore… you mean to tell me that you went on a date and didn't kiss him on the lips… or go to a hotel together…?" Setsuna growled with a deadly aura around her.

"What's it to you? More importantly, who are you calling a whore when you're offended we didn't do it on the first date?" Miku growled.

"If you're going to date someone you have to show that you're serious! A kiss or making love are the #1 ways of proving it then and there!" Setsuna barked.

"You don't just dive into that sort of stuff!" Miku barked back.

"Then your heart is obviously too cold for love!" Setsuna roared.

"I'm not the one looking to spread 'em on the first date!" Miku howled.

"You should be honored that Takeya would consider giving you the honor!" Setsuna barked.

"Takeya… they're scary… but I'm still somehow jealous…" Okita gulped.

"So long as they don't start grapping in the middle of the classroom." Takeya sighed.

That evening at the gym Miku couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she didn't altogether dislike it. When she caught herself touching her lips she freaked accidentally dropping a weight on her foot making her hop up and down holding her foot crying out in pain. Naturally they made sure her foot was okay, although many found it odd that she'd do something silly like dropping a weight on her foot. She was lucky it was just a small 5lb weight or her foot could have really been hurt. She got an ice pack for it and finished off with some stretches. Once at home she was even more conflicted. She didn't understand why she felt so warm when she thoughts about the kiss. Against her moral will, she inevitably went to her mother.

"Heh. What you're feeling is the bud of love, kid. You should just be happy that your first kiss was more graceful than mine." Rio chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Miku asked.

"Your father was thrown my direction and catching me off guard. It was a very awkward first kiss to say the least… he broke out apologizing to me on his hands and knees and everything too." Rio answered.

"I'm surprised you didn't put dad through the ring." Miku commented.

"Oh I made sure he 'paid' for that kiss as my gopher. He was endearing though… he always gave his utmost to meet my slightly unfair time constraints. Of course, I only did that because he never complained and just did it. He was only late one time." Rio told her.

"Why was he late?" Miku asked.

"His best friend was an ass and decided to lift and carry him off. You know how short your dad is… poor guy was powerless to stop him." Rio laughed.

"What'd you do to him for being late?" Miku asked.

"I gave him the option of either wrestling to escape punishment, or taking 50 piledrivers." Rio replied.

"Wrestling would seem like a punishment to me." Miku commented.

"Well naturally I didn't go full-force on him, you and I both know how fragile your dad can be." Rio laughed.

"Mom… I don't know what to do…" Miku sighed.

"You'll have the answer soon enough, Miku. Every girl goes through this phase at some point… whether they're just in middle school as they blossom or they're well into their thirties." Rio told her while opening a can of soda.

Days continued to go on as Miku continued to train fighting her constant thoughts of Takeya Hagiwara. Setsuna barking at her to show love for him, continuing to assume that she's a rival. Takeya seemed to brush off Setsuna's passes as well as he continued to pursue a really obvious answer for a really obvious question. Okita could only try to help Takeya see what he was missing in girls. One day after Chess Club though… Miku cornered Okita.

"W-What do you want from me, Kazama-san?" Okita asked nervously.

"Lend me season one of Ultra Dragon Knights." Miku demanded.

"Huh?" Okita asked in confusion.

"The show you and Hagiwara nerd out over… lend me season one." Miku answered with her signature cold stare.

"O-Okay… but I'm not sure why… just make sure you take good care of it… it's the collectors' edition, so it's really expensive to replace just the cover of one disk." Okita replied, and they went to his home so he could fetch it for her.

That night Miku would do her homework while using the show as background noise. Almost a quarter into the second episode she wound up locked into the show. In the end, she was up until morning binging all 34 episodes of the season. Even Rio was surprised by the effect an all-nighter had on Miku, she couldn't even stand without help. Any other parent would punish her by sending her to school anyway, but with Miku unable to so much as coherently retort to insults she had no choice but to put her to bed. Miku had Takeya come pick up Okita's DVD, although he was surprised she'd taken an interest in it. Miku made the excuse that she had to get the theme song out of her head and thought seeing the show would do the job. At least that's what she convinced herself it is.

When she'd recovered the next day, she found herself confronted by Setsuna. She looked to have a fool's grin on her face. Miku would have suplexed her if it didn't mean detention.

"So, trying to binge the series so you can get closer to Takeya? You sly fox, but I have nine seasons on you! So you have a long time before you'll catch up!" Setsuna laughed.

"It was on a whim, completely unrelated to him." Miku growled.

"Oh? Despite people continuing to say the show is a bit of a mockery of the sport? You don't care what they'll say if you become a fan?" Setsuna giggled.

"If I cared about opinions wouldn't I have laid you out by now?" Miku told her and Setsuna was again buried in snow as Miku took her seat when the bell rang.

That afternoon when she arrived at the Berserk gym she found numerous of the freshman members seemingly beaten. The senior members were making sure they weren't injured by whatever happened. She quickly approached Sakura, who looked a bit frightened.

"What happened?" Miku asked.

"We had an Inter-Gym Recruits Tournament with another gym to see how much our recruits had learned and improved since joining… they were unexpectedly brutal with them. They were clean wins and I'm at least thankful for that… but… I'm not used to seeing that level of cruelty… one of their recruits… I had to beg them to end it… her opponent couldn't even stand, but she kept picking her up to do more…" Sakura answered trying to remain calm.

"Which gym was it?" Miku asked.

"One of the newer ones that started last year, Bloodthirsty Fangs. They already have fifteen recruits too. There were only two pro wrestling vets, but I could tell they were already World Circuit competitors, even if one is in the mixed league and another competes solely in the female league." Sakura answered.

"There's a mixed league?!" Miku asked in shock.

"Always has been, but it requires at least three male and female competitors to be registered in your gym. You know our regime, and it's just a bit too tough for beginning guys these days. So naturally we don't participate in the mixed league and focus on the female league exclusively." Sakura answered with a nervous chuckle.

"So they didn't have male competitors in the tournament here." Miku sighed.

"Their vets tried to get them to, but naturally as recruits they're too nervous to actually compete with girls in the ring yet. They could take a page from Takeya's book. If he pictures them as someone he can be natural around he won't have a problem even if they're a DD cup. He helped us stretch a lot back when he was a little boy." Sakura chuckled.

"Was he any help?" Miku asked.

"Not really because of his height at the time, but we appreciated the gesture." Sakura replied.

"So why'd he stop coming?" Miku asked.

"I think his interests answer that one, Kazama-chan." Sakura answered.

"I see… yet you registered him for a life membership knowing he'd waste it." Miku commented.

"At the time I thought he'd use it, and he did for a while." Sakura chuckled.

That night on the way home from the gym, a girl with blood red hair was waiting at the last turn onto her home's street. Miku could recognize her grin in an instant. This girl had been expelled from several gyms. She was only known as Kurohime, a so-called "Goddess of Carnage" in the ring. Why was she waiting for her?

"Miku Kazama… I missed you today at the Berserk gym…" Kurohime giggled.

"Kurohime… so you changed gyms again… I'm surprised you haven't been blacklisted." Miku spoke.

"Don't be like that, Miku Kazama… only two people have made me cry… and I always repay the favor… you and Setsuna Yawane will cry at my hands… you see, I'm the one who talked my gym into suggested the tournament to Berserk… and they'll do the same for Starstruck next. Only… I made sure they request that Setsuna Yawane is there… for me to wrestle…" Kurohime giggled.

"It's always about revenge with you…" Miku growled.

"No, no, no… it's about enjoying myself. You two are the only ones who have ever pinned me in a public match… and made me cry… it's been my drive to return the favor these past few years…" Kurohime chuckled.

"What do you want, Kurohime?" Miku demanded.

"One thing… to make you cry… not from something arbitrary like hitting you or insulting you… but from making your heart twist, bend, and break… much like when you two took first place from me… first you, and the same contest the next year by her." Kurohime giggled before walking away.

That put Miku on edge. Once Kurohime has someone in her eyes, she will pursue them until she accomplishes her goal. She almost couldn't focus in class or training either. The thought of what she would do made her afraid.

Two days later the Starstruck Gym and Bloodthirsty Fangs tournament would be held at the Bloodthirsty Fangs gym. This would be an opportunity for the rookies to show off their stuff to the vets. Setsuna was confident in her ability, and noticed Kurohime B-lining for her. Kurohime was dressed in blood red knee-length boots, black kneepads that seemed to have blood stains on them, a black two-piece outfit with similar blood stains, matching elbow pads, and red gloves. She had the same sadistic grin on her face as when she saw Miku.

"Kurohime, it's been years." Setsuna greeted her.

"Yeah… seven, in fact, since we last wrestled let alone saw each other." Kurohime spoke.

"Heh, just looking at you I bet you're the ace rookie of your gym." Setsuna complimented.

"Hmm, and you look like you have so long to go…" Kurohime teased.

"Hey!" Setsuna shouted.

"I'm only teasing." Kurohime giggled.

"I hear there won't be disqualifications in the tournament. Is it true?" Setsuna whispered.

"Indeed. Weapons, interference, choking, low blows, hanging your feet on the ropes… it's all legal in this tournament…" Kurohime chuckled.

"Isn't that a bit extreme for rookies though?" Setsuna asked her.

"I don't think so. I think it makes it more interesting… even the most inexperienced of your team has a chance at winning if they land a good enough shot with a chair or bat…" Kurohime giggled.

The vets explained everything to the rookies before having them draw lots to see who would face who in the first round. Setsuna lucked out facing a member of her own gym and on the farthest end of the bracket from Kurohime too. The Bloodthirsty Fangs gym had four rings, so they were able to hold four first-round matches at the same time. Setsuna had to wait to face her opponent because during the race to decide who goes first she had to use the bathroom.

Once it was her turn she revealed her attire. She wore her black knee-length boots, signature fire red and dark gold leotard with a dragon motif to the chest region, fire red knee and elbow pads, and black gloves. She was able to handily defeat her opponent narrowly evading a chair from the get-go. Her next opponent was even easier since they went for a clean win. Setsuna tried not to let the cries of Kurohime's opponents unnerve her. It took not looking in that direction to keep it together when she saw the blood. Soon it was the finals, and as much as she was afraid… it was her versus Kurohime now. This would decide which gym was the victor in the tournament, even if half the matches were each gym eliminating their own participants.

"Final match: Setsuna Yawane vs Kurohime!" the ref announced before giving the signal.

-DING-

Setsuna and Kurohime locked up in an intense power struggle. Kurohime then grinned slamming her knee into Setsuna's crotch dropping her to her knees holding herself. Setsuna recovered a bit and got a knee to the jaw by Kurohime making her lip bleed a bit. Kurohime rolled her on her back and put a finger on her.

 ** _One!..._**

Setsuna naturally rolled and when she got up high kicked Kurohime knocking her back to the ropes. Kurohime came back from the ropes and got clotheslined. She got up and received another one. Setsuna tried for a fourth but Kurohime ducked under it catching her neck in the process. Kurohime then performed a running choke slam on Setsuna making her cough as she tried to recover. Kurohime pulled her up with her head between her legs, hooked her arms, and lifted her up. She aimed for an implant buster, but Setsuna tucked her legs stopping her landing despite making her bounce back to the ropes as Kurohime had to recover from losing her grip. The two rushed back in and threw punches, but for some reason Kurohime's punch packed more punch laying Setsuna on her back in the center of the ring. The audience was confused until Kurohime took brass knuckles off of her chuckling with a grin as she waved them before tossing them aside to hook Setsuna's leg.

 ** _One! Two!..._**

Setsuna amazed even the referee by kicking out as if by a miracle. Kurohime giddily giggled standing letting Setsuna unsteadily use her legs and then her hips to get a bearing on where she was standing. Kurohime threw her to the corner ramming Setsuna's shoulder on the middle turnbuckle making her cry out in pain. Kurohime then began punching and kicking Setsuna's gut against the corner. She then began sadistically bashing her head on it eventually making her forehead begin to bleed. Setsuna elbowed her trying to figure out where she was, and Kurohime continued to giggle.

She got out of the ring and pulled a chair from under it before reentering. Just when Setsuna thought she recovered some kind of sense Kurohime slammed the back of the chair on her head knocking her down again. Kurohime laughed maniacally as she bashed the chair on Setsuna's body until it was completely bent out of useful shape. She then got all kinds of weapons and began brutally beating on Setsuna with them laughing all the while as Setsuna's cries of pain filled the gym. The other trainees were too scared to do anything to help her. The match looked more like wanton violence than wrestling now as Setsuna bled from multiple places. Setsuna's screams soon faded as Kurohime kicked her a few times to check she was still breathing.

"Heh… I hoped to make you cry some more… but I guess this'll have to do…" Kurohime giggled before rolling Setsuna over and sitting on her ribs stroking her blood-stained bangs.

 ** _One! Two! Three!_**

-Ding Ding Ding-

An ambulance was called for Setsuna, who couldn't even speak because of how battered she was. Once at the hospital she'd lost so much blood they had to give her a transfusion. Luckily the Starstruck Gym's health insurance policy had Setsuna's back when her mother came in and couldn't help asking about the cost to help her. When Setsuna had at least regained partial cognitive function all she could do was say "Take-dom". Her mother visited Berserk and had Sakura alert Takeya to what'd happened. Like a bat out of hell Takeya made a dead sprint for the hospital to see her. Once there he got the story of her injuries from Setsuna herself. She had some fractured bones, but luckily enough nothing was completely broken.

The next day at school saw Takeya acting differently as he entered the classroom… he had his afternoon personality from the start with a slight scowl on his face. He was intimidating to the other students now, when normally he's so approachable. Even Miku was surprised by his look of pure anger.

"Takeya? It's rare to see you in a foul mood… before noon too." Okita spoke.

"Setsuna is in the hospital. Ten of her bones are fractured and she has tons of lacerations on her body. A member of a gym called Bloodthirsty Fangs was behind it… and Setsuna wasn't the first… others were harmed by the same person. She tricked them by agreeing to no disqualification stipulations… just to get away with being overly cruel to her opponents…" Takeya growled.

"T-Takeya… it's abnormal to see you angry…" Okita commented nervously.

"The girl you're referring to is called Kurohime." Miku spoke standing from her seat.

"Why would she do that?" Takeya asked.

"Even I don't know. She's an enigma who desires to be the biggest sadist in all of wrestling." Miku answered.

"So many things are on my plate… Setsuna wants me to keep her from doing the same thing to Berserk's trainees… evidently she plans on coercing an upcoming competition to use no disqualification stipulations." Takeya sighed.

"You mean the Shooting Star Competition where gyms get to show off their trainee's ability in a cross-gym tournament." Miku told him.

"It's mixed, so it'd be my best chance to punish this Kurohime… that means I have to start training…" Takeya spoke.

After school, Takeya walked with Miku to the gym for training. He'd gone pretty soft, even if he did still have enough skill to pull off a win against a trainee with Miku's skill. The tournament was a long five weeks away, but that didn't mean they could slack off. The Berserk way is to train your ass off every day until the day of the tournament or match. Seeing his determination, Miku pieced together that Takeya is lazy, nerdy, and sometimes a little too dense… but when his friends are involved he'll snap into the mindset of a wrestler in an instant. It sort of made her see the allure of him. In her heart, it made her want him to notice her making her try harder than the others were used to seeing. It made the others silently giggle seeing her work to impress a boy.

"Miku-chan, you'll be sparring with Takeya today." one of the coaches told her.

"Right." Miku replied, and the two got in the ring.

They wrestled for what seemed like hours. Round after round they went at it seemingly trading wins, sometimes streaks on one another. Takeya felt strange after they finished… like he wanted to wrestle her more. Or was it the desire to wrestle? He couldn't tell, but the feeling definitely centered around Miku. That night he decided to talk to his mom about it.

"Like you want to just overall see her again, huh? I guess it's starting to click in your head what love is." Sakura giggled as they ate dinner.

"Take's got a girlfriend! Take's got a girlfriend!" the twins teased.

"I'll put both of you to bed with sleeper holds if you don't shut up…" Takeya growled making them squeal in faked fear as they ran to hide behind Sakura still giggling.

"Girls, come on, this is your brother's first actual crush." Sakura chuckled.

"Is that it is?" Takeya asked.

"You're seeing her determination first-hand and just how much effort she puts into training. Knowing she cares so much about a subject you grew up with probably trips a switch in your head." Sakura answered with a smile.

"What's that mean?" the twins asked her.

"It means that he's a guy who prefers his women able to be completely independent, not requiring any form of masculine figure to defend them, standing completely on their own. Kazama-chan and Yawane-chan are both prime examples of such women, in his age group anyway." Sakura explained.

"So, big bro hates girly girls then?" the twins asked.

"I wouldn't say hates, but more or less is incapable of feeling attracted to them." Sakura replied thinking about it.

"That'd be a blow to the pride of the popular girls…" the twins snickered.

"Hmm… independent girls, huh?" Takeya spoke while lost in thought.

The next day at school in the hallway Miku walked straight to Takeya. She grabbed him and kissed him on the lips. Everyone in the hall was shocked, including Takeya. It was unheard of for Miku to show any emotion except maybe anger toward him.

"Takeya Hagiwara… you're taking me on a date this Sunday." Miku told him with a dead serious face.

"Okay…?" Takeya answered.

"Meet me in front of the Berserk gym at ten o'clock." Miku ordered before walking off.

"Huh… guess it's true, everyone loves the strong silent types." Okita joked patting Takeya's back.

"Cut it out." Takeya scolded while blushing.

"Nailed it." Miku thought to herself as she walked.

Sunday rolled around and Takeya met her there. Miku had on her ring boots and a black overcoat hiding her clothes. Takeya was confused as she took his hand going inside the gym. It was empty, so he guessed that she reserved it. She led him to the ring, inside the ring, and only turned to him once they were in the center. She turned to him and dropped her overcoat revealing she was wearing black lingerie giving Takeya a nosebleed.

"W-Why are you only in your underwear?!" Takeya asked in shock.

"T-This is the only way I could get the message through that thick skull of yours apparently… like when Love Dragon tried to make Ocean Dragon fall in love with her in Season One Episode Ten, she had to strip down in front of him to make him realize what she'd been trying to tell him." Miku answered blushing.

"So… you're saying… you like me?" Takeya asked blushing.

"Grr… fall in love with me, damn it!" Miku shouted going deeper red.

"I-In love…" Takeya thought to himself nervously.

"You and me, right now! The best way to determine our compatibility is to wrestle in our underwear!" Miku shouted, and Takeya nervously nodded stripping down to his boxers.

In truth it was Rio that told Miku to do this, knowing full-well that Miku would take her seriously and attempt it. The two awkwardly wrestled in their underwear with Takeya eventually coming out on top with a pin. Worn out, the two definitely felt closer somehow. Miku was also sensible enough to bring actual clothes in her bag for when they got dressed again.

"H-Hagiwara… c-consider that my application to… m-maybe be your girlfriend from now on." Miku spoke.

"W-Why… why does she look so cute now that we've wrestled like that…?" Takeya thought to himself occasionally stealing a glance at her.

The rest of the date was a somewhat awkward walk through the park, lunch at a local place, and then a horror movie Miku had been wanting to see. During the movie Miku found herself clinging to Takeya's arm when she got spooked. Was this what it's like being a girl in love? In a way she felt like a manga character the way she was showing her feminine side with her ability to be frightened by things when she's normally composed and emotionless. Thinking on it, she hasn't been able to keep her cool at all when around Takeya, Okita, and Setsuna. Was that ability to emote part of a normal school life?

After the movie there was one last stop Miku wanted to hit. She wanted to use a couples' photo booth. She had to be absolutely sure she was emoting. In the pictures the standard side-by-side showed her deadpan look, but in the ones where they were touching she saw it… her smile. The last photo she'd ever smiled in was when she entered kindergarten. Every single one since then had seen her with her default emotionless look. Her smile in the images proved it beyond a doubt… Miku was in love, and oddly enough with a guy that irritated the crap out of her just a few weeks ago. They got two copies of the photos, and it was finally time to walk Miku home at roughly a quarter past five. Rio grinned wide seeing Miku's slight smile at the gate and then when she turned to kiss Takeya on the lips before going inside.

"So, how'd the match go?" Rio asked Miku as she sat on the couch.

"Embarrassing… I still can't believe I went through with it…" Miku sighed.

"Me either…" Rio thought to herself chuckling.

"I'm glad I did though… even though I lost I was still able to finally say it to him… and I'm more than certain he feels the same way." Miku smiled blushing.

"You didn't get a definite?" Rio asked.

"It'd be unfair to Yawane-san, who also feels that way about him." Miku replied going deadpan again.

"Oh, so you want a fair competition with her instead of capitalizing on her hospitalization… that's pretty big of you." Rio chuckled with a finger on her chin.

"Mother, did you ever wrestle dad like that?" Miku asked making Rio nervous.

"Yeah, of course, all the time, what the hell…" Rio replied avoiding eye contact.

"What's the current score?" Miku asked, almost as if purposely backing her into a corner.

"I-It's 325 to 340… y-your father's played dirty to get ahead the past few months… b-but I don't altogether mind it…" Rio replied nervously.

"Do those matches segway into intercourse?" Miku asked.

"O-Only because we're married…" Rio answered.

In Takeya's room, he was hanging by his legs from a bar and curling up. Even Sakura was surprised by the amount of effort he's putting into getting trained. The twins even acted as extra weight while doing pushups sometimes too. The competition was only two weeks away now. While Takeya had finally achieved his goal of learning how to see Miku as a woman, he also knew that he couldn't lose focus on making sure Kurohime paid for what she did to Setsuna.

End Chapter 2

-POST-CHAPTER FUNTIME-

Miku: The tournament is almost here.

Takeya: Kurohime… I don't know who you are… but my name is Takeya Hagiwara, you hospitalized my friend, prepare to wrestle.

Twins: Good luck big bro!

Sakura: We'll try to keep the weapons from reaching the ring since it's no disqualifications.

Rio: I refuse to have Miku bleeding all over the ring, so you can bet that we'll be keeping a sharp eye on them.

Miku & Takeya: Let's go for it!

Takeya: Okita, you're coming too!

Okita: Why me?!

Miku: Next time, "The Competition Is Here! Extreme Violence Incoming!"!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Competition Is Here! Extreme Violence Incoming!**

The competition was being held at three separate stadiums in the city over three days. Oddly enough, Takeya was nowhere to be found despite going there with Sakura. When the brackets were drawn up, Takeya's name wasn't even up there… but there was a name nobody on the Berserk team seemed to recognize under their team bracket. Soon it was time to begin…

"Now starting, Berserk's Miku Kazama vs Firebreather's Aoi Yunobu!" the announcer spoke.

Miku entered the ring in an ice blue leotard with a small white skirt to it and matching boots and elbow pads. Her opponent had bobbed black hair and wore a red and black two piece outfit. The referee checked them for weapons and signaled the bell.

-DING-

The two locked up and stared into each other's eyes. Aoi tripped Miku, but she used her momentum to swing and twirl Aoi into a DDT. Miku threw her to the ropes and dodged a clotheslines to land a german suplex on Aoi holding her there.

"One! Two!" the ref counted before Aoi rolled out of it.

Aoi threw Miku to a corner and speared her into it. She threw several belly punches before climbing up to throw punches at her head. The ref got to four before she backed off. The second the ref moved she charged again but Miku hopped up to the middle turnbuckle causing Aoi to crash into the corner. Miku got onto the top turnbuckle pulling Aoi with her and performed a suplex off the top making Aoi roll around a bit holding her back.

Miku landed some belly punches of her own on Aoi and performed a neck breaker. She then backed up a bit circling behind Aoi to the corner as she recovered in a slight daze. She was aiming for the kill, her finishing move, the Stardust Cannon. She pulled herself onto the top turnbuckle looking to launch herself feet first like a missile. Aoi got to her feet in a daze looking for Miku and turned around. Miku leapt straightening herself to collide feet first with Aoi's face knocking her straight onto her back appearing to be unconscious. Miku then quickly covered her hooking her leg…

"One! Two! Three!" the ref counted.

-DING, DING, DING-

"Berserk Competitor, Miku Kazama, advances to the second round!" the announcer spoke excitedly.

"That's my girl." Rio smirked.

"Now starting, and Firebreather's last chance at proceeding to the next round, Berserk's Vengeful Dragon vs Firebreather's Nanako Fujimura!" the announcer spoke.

From Firebreather's side, a bubbly girl with long pink hair put in loose drill pigtails wearing a pink and white candy themed top-and-skirt type outfit entered the ring. With a smile on her face she waved to the competitors and crowd. Lights then directed their attention to the titantron above the ring where a masculine man in a black bodysuit bearing red dragon designs, white knee-length boots with matching gloves going to his elbows, and a dragon-shaped mask bearing a black visor to hide his eyes was sitting. He hopped down performing three front flips before landing gracefully in the ring.

"Vengeful Dragon is here!" Takeya's voice howled from inside the suit making the kids in the crowd cheer wildly… and all three Sakura, Rio, and Miku facepalmed with both hands, although Sakura's was done out of shame.

"Where did he even get an outfit like that…?" Rio asked trying to contain her laughter.

"I'm more impressed by his ability to land that entrance without hurting himself in the process…" Miku confessed.

"I'm so embarrassed right now…" Sakura whined as the referee checked the two for weapons, and then signaled the bell.

-DING-

They both charged the center of the ring. Nanako swiftly turned launching her butt at him, but he bent grabbing her waist and then suplexed her instead of letting it hit him. Nanako would shout the names of her moves as she did them, and Vengeful Dragon would just evade and counter her. It was painfully obvious which of Firebreather's rookies was skilled and which didn't take it all that seriously.

She quickly became steamed and charged flailing her arms. He stepped to the side letting her hit her arms on the corner crying in pain. He then did a reverse Snapmare dazing her and then posed heroically getting the children to start chanting "Vengeance Bomb" wildly.

"Is Vengeful Dragon a TV character or something? These kids evidently know who he's portraying." Rio asked looking around.

Vengeful Dragon pulled Nanako to the top turnbuckle and lifted her as if to perform an implant buster. The kids of the crowd got louder with their chants. He then leapt from the top ready to land Nanako down.

"Repent for your crimes! Vengeance Bomb!" Vengeful Dragon roared as Nanako connected hard with the ring, and he then hooked both of her legs.

"One! Two! Three!" the referee counted.

-DING, DING, DING-

"Berserk's Vengeful Dragon proceeds to the second round! Just like that, Firebreather has been eliminated!" the announcer spoke.

The second Vengeful Dragon stepped out of the ring Miku got in his face. She was squinting her eyes trying to see inside of the visor. Rio was trying to console Sakura, because his win meant he'd be donning that outfit a second time, and a third if he goes to the finals.

"So, what's up with the outfit?" Rio asked.

"I'm… still too nervous to show myself in the ring… so I got Jackal to pull some strings with the Ultra Dragon Knights company to lend me the outfit for Vengeful Dragon, Love Dragon's son in the Apocalypse Timeline." Takeya explained twiddling his fingers.

"Apocalypse Timeline?" Miku asked tilting her head.

"The Ultra Dragon Knights show splits into three timelines after the sixth season. The canon timeline goes on with the same continuity as the ending to season six. There are two spinoff series that venture into what would happen if season six ended differently, the Apocalypse Timeline and the New Darkness Timeline." Okita's voice explained.

"You finally made it." Takeya spoke as Okita walked up to them.

"I managed to catch the end of your match. Looks like you gave my sis a royal beating." Okita told him.

"That airhead is your sister?" Miku asked in total confusion seeing no resemblance.

"Believe it or not, she's my younger step-sister, but she's only younger by a few weeks. Before you ask, yes, she's always that bubbly." Okita answered.

"Is she really that bad at wrestling?" Sakura asked.

"She can be talented when she isn't being airheaded. She's won sparring matches at her gym, but not once has she won at a show because she's so focused on showboating." Okita sighed.

"Idiot's asking for a short career." Rio scoffed.

"Doesn't help that her friends enable her." Okita shrugged.

"Takeya, did you know about her?" Sakura asked.

"I've seen her a few times around Okita's place, but I didn't know she was a wrestler. She usually walks around in pajamas." Taketa answered.

"No surprise, Bloodthirsty Fangs won both of their matches." Miku scoffed looking across the way.

"Then because Starstruck was put out of commission for this tournament, it'll be Berserk, Bloodthirsty Fangs, and Moon Knights going to the next round. That means you two might square off in the finals depending on how things end." Rio chuckled.

"That's if they can get past their opponents in the second bracket. It hasn't been brought up on the titantron yet, but it'll be settled real soon." Sakura spoke.

Moments later, on the screen of the titantron a bracket image appeared. It showed all participants, and the winners names flashed red with the color extending up to the second level. Then all of a sudden the names that moved on began swapping places in a rapid roulette. They then stopped in the following order…

MATCH 01: BERSERK MIKU vs MOON KNIGHTS KAITO

MATCH 02: BLOODTHIRSTY FANGS KUROHIME vs MOON KNIGHTS KABUTO

SIT-OUTS: MOON KNIGHTS LYNEL, BERSERK VENGEANCE DRAGON

"The heck are sit-outs?" Okita asked.

"It means that a team had more rookies tournament ready than expected, so they're altering the second bracket level so that the competitors even out. Moon Knights had three compared to the rest of us who only have two." Sakura explained.

"So you won't be going in the ring again until the semi-finals. Take that time to rest up and try to make that outfit look at least a little professional." Miku told Takeya.

"I was given explicit instructions not to alter it, it's already fit for in-ring competition. The elbow and knee pads aren't for show, they're actual ring gear. Feel 'em for yourself." Takeya argued.

"We get it, we get it…" Okita chuckled.

"Competitors who lost today, don't lose out on this opportunity to learn from your opponents! Those competitor passes also double as show tickets! Come to the next venue for the second round!" the announcer exclaimed excitedly.

"Finally, we can pack up…" Miku sighed.

"Okita, you came to see me wrestle?!" Nanako's voice called making Okita freeze.

"Damn, she spotted me…" he sighed as she ran over leaping onto his back.

"Do you see? Do you see?! Even when I lose I look hot and bangable!" she exclaimed shoving a photo in his face.

"Why the hell would I care about that?!" Okita barked shaking her off.

"I'm leaving that one alone…" Miku commented as Nanako pouted.

That evening at the Kazama household Miku took a bath with her mother for the first time in years. It'd almost become awkward for Miku to have actual motherly experiences with her.

"I want an honest answer… do you think you can beat Kurohime?" Rio asked her as she washed Miku's back.

"I can't give a definite answer. I haven't wrestled her since the one time back in fifth grade. From what I saw on the recordings of the first round she's remarkably improved." Miku answered.

"Think you'll lose?" Rio asked.

"It's up in the air until we actually square off in the ring." Miku answered.

That same night Okita was drying himself off in the shower. He'd gotten his boxers and black pajama pants on with his hair draped over his eyes as he opened the fridge. His sister, now dressed in pink pajamas, hugged him from behind.

"You're gonna put them on again tomorrow?" Nanako asked.

"You know how I feel about it. Plus it'd be too awkward to go without them on now… it's been years." Okita answered her grabbing a soda from the door of the fridge.

"You'd take 'em off if Takeya asked." Nanako pouted.

"Not even if he asked me." Okita told her walking into his room locking the door behind him.

The next day at Miku's request Okita was going to record Kurohime's match. She wanted to get a good handle on how difficult going head-to-head with her was going to be. He was against the idea, but nevertheless he was going to. First thing was first though, they had school to get through. Takeya seemed more tired than usual though. Then lunch came around…

"Hey Takeya, mind coming with me to film Kurohime's match today?" he asked him.

"I don't see why not, but it's pretty boring to just do that and leave." Takeya answered.

"Well we can stick around for the whole thing if you want." Okita told him.

"Nah… I'm curious about her too." Takeya sighed.

"Ah, like know thy enemy and stuff?" Okita asked.

"Something like that." Takeya answered.

 **End Chapter 3**

-End of Chapter Fun Time-

Takeya: Kurohime… I will exact vengeance!

Miku: Why are you wearing that? You aren't even participating today.

Okita: He's just getting into character.

Sakura: You're not allowed to wear that beyond this tournament.

Takeya: I make no promises.

Miku: Next time; "Face Off - Miku vs Kurohime"!


End file.
